President Obama famously told Joe the Plumber in 2008 that his tax plan was designed to “spread the wealth around” an idea that Obama said was “good for everybody.” Since being sworn into office, Obama has lived up to that pledge, enacting a trillion dollar health care plan that The New York Times called “the federal government’s biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago.”
Well, The New York Times has even more good news for Obama this morning. According to IRS data, the share of income received by America’s richest 1 percent dropped from 23% in 2007 to 17% in 2009. Obama’s wealth redistribution plan is already a stunning success. But if everybody is now more equal, if the rich’s share of the wealth has fallen by a stunning 17% in just two years, then why hasn’t that been “good for everybody” as Obama told Joe the Plumber it would be?
University of Chicago’s Steven Kaplan explains, “If you want to reduce inequality, all you need to do is put the economy in a recession. If you want the economy to do well, as all of us do, then you’ll get more inequality.” Kaplan continued, “It’s very interesting that [income inequality] has become such a big topic now when the numbers are back to where they were in the 1990s. People didn’t seem to be complaining about it then.”
People weren’t complaining about income inequality in the 90s because they had jobs. When people have jobs, they don’t care if their neighbor has a nicer car than they do. But Obama’s job creation record is a complete failure. The 2012 election cannot be about jobs, it has to be about something Obama can solve … like income inequality. By making us all poorer, Obama is doing a fantastic job fighting income inequality.
Around the Bigs
The Los Angeles Times, Occupy protesters block West Coast ports: Occupy Wall Street protesters in Oakland, California, and Longview, Washington, brought work at those cities two ports to a brief stop, but did not shut them down as planned. Meanwhile, protests at the ports Portland, Seattle, and Long Beach were all to small to significantly affect work.
Gallup, In U.S., Fear of Big Government at Near-Record Level: Americans are far more concerned about the threat of big government than they are about big business. Sixty-four percent of Americans say big government is the biggest threat to the country, just one percentage point shy of the record high, while only 26% who say big business is.
The Wall Street Journal, Lawmakers Reach Deal on Appropriations Bills: House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., announced Monday party leadership in both the House and Senate have reached agreement on nine of the 12 appropriations bills needed to keep the government open through the end of September next year.
The Washington Post, House to vote on extension of payroll-tax reduction: The House of Representatives is expected to approve a bill that would keep the current payroll tax rates for one year, and prevent massive Medicare payment cuts to doctors for two years. The bill would be entirely paid for through spending cuts, including a freeze on government worker pay.
The Los Angeles Times, U.S. asks Iran to return spy drone: Responding to a question at a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, President Obama admitted that he has sent a formal diplomatic request asking Iran to return the radar-evading drone aircraft that crashed on a CIA spying mission this month.
The Washington Post, Supreme Court to hear challenge to Arizona’s immigration law: The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will review Arizona’s immigration enforcement law next year. Justice Elena Kagan also announced that she will recuse herself from the Arizona case, since she consulted on it while a member of the Obama administration.
Campaign 2012
Poll: According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, Obama is trailing Mitt Romney by 5 percentage points and Newt Gingrich by 3 percentage points in a dozen key swing states across the country.
Gingrich: Responding to calls from Mitt Romney that he return the $1.6 million he took from Freddie Mac, Newt Gingrich echoed Occupy Wall Street attacks on Romney, saying: “I would just say that if Gov. Romney would like to give back all the money he’s earned from bankrupting companies and laying off employees over his years at Bain that I would be glad to then listen to him. ”
Righty Playbook
Hot Air‘s Ed Morrissey catches DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz claiming unemployment is lower today than it was when Obama became president.
The Enterprise Blog‘s James Pethokoukis details how Obama distorted inequality statistics in his 60 Minutes interview.
Heritage Foundation
Vice President and former chief of staff to Dick Cheney David Addington details Rep. Dave Camp’s, R-Mich., “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011.”
Lefty Playbook
The Washington Monthly‘s Steve Benen catches Fox News posting a graph showing 8.6 as a higher number than 8.8.
The New York Times‘ Thomas Edsall hopes Obama’s new focus on income inequality will undermine conservative reliance on individual responsibility.
The Washington Post
‘s Ezra Klein notes that the real unemployment rate is 11%.
